


Cunning As A Fox

by vaderina



Series: Prompt Fills [31]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Creative spell works, Gen, Mild descriptions of violence, Under powered Percival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 04:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16055258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: For this prompt: One would think the Director of Magical Security is incredibly powerful, magic-wise. But Percival's actually a little below average in terms of his power levels. But you wouldn't know it - cos Percival is the best fighter there is magically(skill), physically and he fights DIRTY. The only reason Grindelwald defeated him is because a) Percival was tired at the time and b) he was ambushed from behind. Next time they meet, Percival beats Grindelwald with his own invented spell & a baseball bat.





	Cunning As A Fox

Practice practice practice. That had been drilled into Percival from a young age when it had become apparent that his prowess in the realms of magic wasn’t going to be as legendary as his heritage. From before he even set foot in Ilvermorny it was drummed in him to study and continue to work outside of study hours on perfecting what spells his magic could handle. He wasn’t a disappointment to his family, merely the black sheep that needed a little more guidance in the face of his shortcomings.

Even in school Percival could be found in an empty classroom or with his curtains pulled shut around his bed in the dormitory and casting spell again and again until he could muster it. There were some things that were simply beyond him, charms that required a large surge of power to be effective or curses that could only be broken by brute force. But what he lacked there he made up for in ingenuity, precision and stamina. He did his best to follow in the footsteps of his family and joined the duelling club. At first he was all but laughed out of there, his hexes and jinxes more of an annoyance than a real challenge for most students. So he did what he was best at and improvised. For hours he poured over the rules of the club, trying to find loopholes that worked to his advantage. Soon he became known not as a powerful opponent but a fierce one who didn’t shy away from underhanded tactics.

The first time he floored his opponent it was as his wand fizzled with small fireworks as a distraction in one fist while the other smashed into their face. The referee called a halt to their duel immediately but Percival rattled off rules and regulations. There was nothing in them that excluded physical contact. So it was that Percival’s first victory came with a certain amount of notoriety. Soon he was utilising not only his own body in duels but his surroundings. People learnt to be afraid of candles thrown towards them, pokers from fireplaces being wielded in their faces and as Percival grew into his adult body soon tables were being flung at opponents and on one memorable occasion a cat. As far as Percival was concerned there was no such thing as a fair fight and he didn’t hesitate to take advantage of distractions and the environment. Perhaps the most memorable fight had been the one where he’d taken the referee hostage and used him as a shield and a distraction.

By the time Percival made it to auror training he was confident in his skills. His magical stamina was leagues above other’s and he could hold simple charms and spells going for hours on end. It was his endurance and creativity that landed him one of the coveted training spots when, during his selection process he conjured an illusion of three cats sleeping on the floor that distracted his opponent just enough for him to bodily throw himself at them and disarm them the no-maj way.

The training only fuelled his creativity as he needed to keep up with his peers. While they worked on offensive spells to disarm powerful opponents Percival figured out the best way to sneak past guarding spells. The other trainees learnt how to smash curses and Percival worked tirelessly to unpick each thread until he could unwrap and re-purpose hexes on a whim. Most people would have thought him crazy if they knew that the pebbles in his pockets were actually curses he’d stole off object and stored them for later use and more practice.

As a Senior Auror Percival was assigned the more delicate cases. Ones that needed more knowledge of the law and diplomacy rather than brute force. He still led raids and took part in skirmishes but his speciality lay in the refined corners of the law. Soon he was training new recruits not in bullheaded force but in more subtle spells that could save their lives. A quiet notice-me-not charm combined with a disinclination spell that meant stakeouts were so much better. Weave in a simple heating charm and even in the winter aurors could stand in shady doorways and on corners without the worry of their chattering teeth giving them away. Of course there were more sinister spells Percival rarely taught. The jelly-leg jinx combined with a bludgeoning hex made people fall down convinced their legs had shattered in multiple places. They never did, his bludgeoning hex had never been strong enough to do more than violently shove someone back but the feeling was all he needed for it to be an effective distraction.

Nobody dared mention the training room that was fitted out not with targets and magical opponents but with padded dummies, bags filled with sand hanging from the ceiling, weights and other body conditioning tools. Only those who created the room knew about the shooting range that extended down round the corner. It was a room that wasn’t used by anyone as far as people knew, it simply sat there as a reminder of what they’d be reduced to without the superiority of magic. Late each night though, under a carefully woven blankets of notice-me-not charms and disinclination spells along with an as yet unnamed spell to distort memory of identity a certain somebody slipped into the room and pulled the deadbolt shut on the other side of the door.

Late one night Percival was stumbling back home. He’d pushed himself harder in his little gym than usual, frustrated by the fact he couldn’t get a levitation spell to work on anything larger than a cabinet. It had always been said that such spell worked the same on everything no matter the size as only the intent behind the spell mattered but Percival strongly disagreed with that. He didn’t hear someone walk up behind him as he fumed to himself and was powerless to stop the curse that thudded into his back.

The few weeks were ones he didn’t wish to remember. Captivity followed by recovery and interrogation. When it was finally concluded that he’d done nothing wrong he was allowed to return to his post. News of Grindelwald’s escape sent a chill down his spine. Revenge was a strong driving force and he had no doubt the dark wizard would come for him again. Never again would anyone get the drop on him like that, Percival swore. He set to work to create new defences, spell combinations that he could use.

As he’d predicted, on one fateful night Grindelwald cornered him. He was taking a shortcut down a back alley on his way to the store from work. One of the pebbles in his pocket vibrated and grew hot alerting him to being followed. Percival didn’t change his stride or give away the fact that he knew he was no longer alone. However he slipped his hands into his pocket and palmed a few of his hidden weapons. He rounded a corner and threw the first pebble. It skittered down the path in the direction he’d been headed and echoed the sound of footsteps as though he’d continued walking. A dark figure rounded the corner and almost crashed into him. One glance revealed it was Grindelwald and Percival sprang into action. Taking a step back he threw the next pebble. It glittered as it sailed through the air and hit Grindelwald in the chest.

“You cast the first stone,” Grindelwald sneered and lifted his wand to cast his first curse. Whatever it would have been it didn’t matter. The pebble Percival had christened “Sucker” did it’s job and the curse was pulled into it. With some remorse Percival watched as the pebble cracked then shattered under the power of it but its sacrifice had save him. He sent another pebble sailing through the air - this time it was “Shocker”.

Small bolts of energy tickled along Grindelwald’s leg and he kicked as he tried not to snort. The tickling charm combined with the most powerful heating spell he could muster did make it feel like gentle bolts of electricity shot over one’s legs and climbed up the body until fizzling out mid-thigh level.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Grindelwald snarled as Percival rummaged in his pocket. With a triumphant grin he pulled something out. Shrinking spells were easy. Restoring things to their natural size was also something he mastered at an early age. The baseball bat grew in size. Imbued as it was with strengthening charms and hardening spells he made short work of Grindelwald. The first strike swung up under his wand arm and cracked sharp against an extended elbow. Opposite him Grindelwald howled, wand dropping from his hand as he clutched at his now broken arm. A second blow to his stomach drove all air from his lungs and had him doubling over. Third time lucky, Percival mused, and he arched the bat through the air and crashed it into the back of Grindelwald’s exposed skull. The man crumpled to the ground.

Looking around Percival bit his lips and shrugged. The baseball bat shrunk in his hand until he could pocket it again. He sent a gentle charm towards MACUSA and anchored it to Grindelwald’s still breathing body. Whoever came would be led back to the scene. With one final shrug Percival brushed imaginary dust off his coat and resumed his journey to the shop.

**Author's Note:**

> @ladyoftheshrimp is where it's at on tumblr


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